Demonstrators shout "killer cops off our streets" at the National Day of Protest through the La Colonia section of Oxnard on Monday, vocalizing their concerns about the killings of Robert Ramirez, Alfonso Limon and Jose Zepeda this year.

Ventura County Star

A photo of Alfonso Limon in a make-shift memorial in the La Colonia neighborhood in Oxnard where he was shot by police.

During the news conference, Ramirez's mother, Teresa, said her son was loved by his family. While he struggled with drugs and was once in prison, the family is trying to find out what led to his death.

"It is easy to discount the lives of those who have issues like Robert did," she said while sitting alongside her daughter, son, niece and grandson. "However, we ... will not be silent and diminish the life of our son by excusing inappropriate behavior that may have caused or led to his death."

In the transcript, an unidentified male 911 caller says he does not know Ramirez but that he is a friend of his sister's. The caller says Ramirez was pulled over by police, panicked and swallowed a large amount of methamphetamine known as an "eight ball."

Three men in the vehicle refused to comply with officers' instructions for about 10 minutes, according to the Oxnard Police Department. Officers said one of the men was talking on a cellphone and that another was simulating a weapon in his hands.

While the men continued to be uncooperative, dispatchers told the officers that a resident nearby had reported that the men in the vehicle possibly had displayed a handgun, authorities said.

Alfonso Limon, 21, and Jose Zepeda, 24, both of Oxnard, were identified Monday as the two who died after police exchanged gunfire with some suspects running from officers Saturday night in the La Colonia area.

Chief Williams was asked at the news conference Tuesday about rumors that ­Limon asked officers not to shoot him, that his body was dragged from the scene by police, and that more people were actually shot ­Saturday.

Williams said nobody else was shot, and that officers gave medical assistance to ­Limon. The other rumors will be investigated, she said.

"It is also important to note that our officers have been impacted by this incident, as well," she said. "We send our heart­felt concerns for those officers and their ­families."

Protesters gathered at Del Sol Park at 5 p.m., many carrying signs condemning the shootings. Speakers addressed the crowd, including Elliott Gabriel, a member of Todo Poder al Pueblo Collective, a local group that has rallied this year against what it calls Oxnard police brutality.

Gabriel said Oxnard would not be safe for residents unless they defend themselves from what he said are overzealous police who too often commit brutality on the people they are sworn to protect.

The document says Alfonso Limon Jr., 21, was walking home with his brother in the La Colonia neighborhood about 10 p.m. when he was mistaken for someone involved in a shootout after a police traffic stop.

"According to witnesses," Limon, in full view of officers, "put his hands up and yelled multiple times 'don't shoot, don't shoot,' " before police opened fire, the claim against the city says.

"While on the ground and still alive, multiple (officers) approached him and continued to shoot at him and killed him," the claim says.

The Office of Independent Review, an oversight group created by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, has worked on other high-profile cases where police behavior has been questioned, including the case of Kelly Thomas, a schizophrenic man who died during an altercation with Fullerton police in 2011. Its report is published on the department's website.

Oxnard police officials think "accident" or "undetermined" would be more appropriate classifications for manner of death, Assistant Chief Scott Whitney said Tuesday. "There was no intent to harm and the outcome was unintentional," he said, in an email.

Surrounded by family members, Teresa Ramirez said at the news conference at Bamieh's office that "on behalf of my son and my family, I am asking for an independent law enforcement agency to investigate ... how he died.

"As a mother, I want justice for my son," she said, fighting back tears as her husband, Guillermo, held her arm. "Who are they to take my son's life? Who made them God?"

The filing says Ramirez screamed in pain and yelled several times for officers to stop, saying they were hurting him. Witnesses heard him make choking sounds, and after he made "a strange screaming and crying sound" for about half a minute, he fell silent, the lawsuit says.